'Staycation' discounts for Hub museums, tours
OK, so many of us are staying put this summer. Thank god we happen to live in a place full of fun and touristy things to do (if you don't believe me just ask any one of the thousands of men wandering aimlessly around town with cameras around their necks, clad in pressed shorts and white socks with cellphones holstered and strapped to their belts).
Most of us who've lived here forever have never been to many of these places, unless you got dragged there as a child or by a child. Now is your chance.
Three of the biggest purveyors of packaged discount deals for local tourist sites are Boston Explorer Pass, Go Boston Card, and Boston City Pass, and the first two of the three are currently running sales. And this is the way they work:
Boston Explorer Pass: These guys let you pick one from their list of 10 Premier Choices and two from their 15 Signature Choices. The Premiers tend to be costlier activities like Mass Bay Lines Whale Watch, which retails for $35 for adults, or Beantown Trolley Tour, which goes for $31. And the Signatures are things like the Museum of Science, which gets $19 for an adult ticket, and the Kennedy Library and Museum, which goes for $10. Boston Explorer is running a 12 percent off, web-only sale until Aug. 7 of $40 for adults and $22 for kids 3-12. One big selling point for these guys is that the pass is good for 30 days, much longer than rivals.
Go Boston Card: Here you get your choice of 75 museums (MFA, Museum of Science, Children's Museum etc.), historic sites (Paul Revere's House, Plimoth Plantation), excursions (Foxwoods or shopping at the Wrentham Premium Outlet Mall as well as museums and sites in Lexington/Concord, Newport. R.I., and the Cape), and other fun stuff (Six Flags, Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, Boston Duck Tours, swan boats etc). It's an impressive list. And you can go to any or all once daily. The catch? The card is only good for a very limited time, starting with one day, which is $55 for adults and $35 for kids aged 3-12 (how many places can you get to in a day?). They are, however, having a 15 percent off sale until July 31 on 3-, 5-, and 7-day cards, which are costlier.
Boston City Pass: With this you get access to six attractions (aquarium, Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Kennedy Library and Museum, MFA, Museum of Science, and Skywalk Observatory) for the price of $44 for adults and $24 for kids (3-11, under 3 is free). The catch here is that the pass is only good for nine days.
So get out your lederhosen and funny hat and go play tourist. Bring your camera. And if you get any great pics, consider entering Boston.com's staycation photo contest for a chance to win a Mohegan Sun getaway.
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I've researched the choices here and it looks like sale or no sale, Boston CityPass is the way to go. With the Explorer Pass, you only get 3 attractions, one from the premier category, 2 from the signature category. Two of the ten offers on the premier category, Aquarium and Museum of Fine Arts, is included in CityPass.
It's true, you have 30 days to use the card but you are only going to 3 attractions, so who needs 30 days? Explore is $4.05 cheaper than Boston CityPass, but only during the sale, and for half the number of attractions. Boston CityPass, which offers six attractions (five of them are included in the Explore options), provides 9 days to use the six attractions, plenty of time, and gives twice as many attractions for $44. And it is an all around better deal than Go, which gives an abundance of choices but unfortunately no time to do them. At $55 for one day, even if someone could do all six of the attractions offered in CityPass, they would still pay more.
There is no "catch" with Boston CityPass. It's always the same price and is a better deal. And in winter, the nine days changed to more than 90 for locals to take advantage of the local museums.
Please note that the person above who posted is the head of PR for CityPass.
Decide for yourself how thorough the research is.
Thanks for the interesting information! These passes can be a valuable way to save money when touring Boston. While planning your visit to the city, you might also be interested in an article I wrote recently about "staycationing" in Boston and all the various, lesser-appreciated sights to visit around town. Some can be visited with one or more of these passes, some are free, and some must be purchased individually. Enjoy! www.lantern-financial.blogspot.com.
I don't know about you but it seems kinda sad that the head of PR has posted a message trying to persuade readers to her own product. My family, and my sisters family just used the Boston Explorer Pass and have nothing but good things to say about the product. We have suggested it to all our friends.
It is possible that the 'Susan Wilson' who posted is not the Susan Wilson who works for City Pass. I know of at least one other Susan Wilson, the author of excellent Boston guide books, including Boston Sites and Insights and Literary Trails of Greater Boston. In full disclosure, I work in tourism at the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, so I can agree with the mystery 'Susan Wilson'; the Boston City Pass is an excellent value and couldn't be easier to use. Since self-promotion is expected of Media & Tourism professionals on this page, I will add that the GBCVB offers a free Boston USA Specials Card and a Family Friendly Value Pass for savings all over town. Visit the homepage of www.bostonusa.com for details.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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